Body of Mandarin High School Football Player (Jarrel Stewart) Recovered After Drowning Incident

In Ponte Vedra (St. Johns County), Florida, a young man died a hero. Jarrel Stewart, age 17, was at Mickler’s Beach with his girlfriend. Jarrel observed that his girlfriend was having trouble in the rough surf and swam out to her to assist her. Unfortunately and tragically, the rip currents appeared to have dragged Jarrel under and caused him to drown. His girlfriend was able to make it back to the shore safely. Surfers in the area tried to locate and assist Jarrel to no avail. Even though Jarrel was young and had good conditioning from the football program at Mandarin High, the strong currents and surf overpowered Jarrel.

Due to the age and circumstances of his death, I expect that there may be an autopsy to determine if there were any other causes or explanations for the untimely and tragic death of this young man.